Cliff Buchan
Forest Lake Times

As a kid who bounced from home to home on both sides of the Mississippi River in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Keith Hegstrom has never felt more at home in Forest Lake.

That became clear in 1980 when Keith and wife Carol bought a home here. In the 26 years since, Hegstrom, 60, has immersed himself in American Legion Post 225 and VFW Post 4210 activities.

Attend a Legion, VFW or community event and thereís a good chance Hegstrom will be there marching with the color guard ó carrying a flag or a rifle.

When itís time to talk flag etiquette with grade-school students, Hegstrom will be there, too.

When itís time to count ballots, Hegstrom is there, too, as a city of Forest Lake election judge.

With 26 years of service to the Legion and VFW to his credit ó including a year as commander of Post 225 in 1986 ó Hegstromís contributions will be recognized on Tuesday, July 4 when he will lead the Independence Day Parade as grand marshal.

Sam Mattson of Forest Lake, another long-time Post 225 member and volunteer, is honorary grand marshal.

Long road to FL

For Hegstrom, it was a long road to Forest Lake and a trip that involved military stints in Vietnam, Turkey and even northern Minnesota.

Born on June 21, 1946 in St. Paul, Hegstrom spent his early years moving with his parents and three siblings from home to home. His father, Walter, was a butcher and cook, and his mother, Evelyn, also worked as a cook.

ìWe were not a very wealthy family,î he said. ìThe folks moved us where we could afford to live.î

As a high school sophomore, Hegstrom spent a year in Richfield living with an uncle. After splitting his early years on both sides of the big river, Hegstrom wound up graduating from Humboldt High School in St. Paul.

That was 1964. By late in 1964, Hegstrom had enlisted in the Air Force, inspired in part by the allure of world travels that he witnessed from his brother Warren, a career Air Force man.

But there were other practical reasons for this son of a blue collar family. ìThere was no money for college,î he said.

He started in the Air Force with the idea of making it a career, much like his brother. He stayed nearly eight years before concluding that the bright lights of the world stage would never be his destination.

He was trained in electrical power production and spent his first three years of duty in Baudette in far northern Minnesota. He was one of 350 Air Force personnel assigned to the NORAD Radar Defense Station base that worked in concert with the Duluth Defense System.

It came during the height of the Cold War when Americans stood ready for an attack by the Soviet Union. ìWe were watching for them (Russians) to come over from Canada,î Hegstrom said.

From the frozen tundra of northern Minnesota, Hegstrom was sent to Vietnam where he would witness events he still tries to forget.

In the spring of 1969 he was sent to Buen Me Thuot, a remote radar base located 15 miles from the Cambodian border and 150 miles from Saigon. Along with the radar station, the base also housed helicopter squadrons, Army personnel and Republic of Vietnam troops.

The base provided air-traffic control for the many military flights in the region and coordinated air space use with the numerous heavy artillery strikes that U.S. forces were using to hit enemy targets.

On most nights, Hegstrom recalled, enemy mortar and artillery shells pounded the U.S. base. ìWe were constantly under assault,î he said. ìWe would be hit every night around 1 a.m.î

But the nightly harassing attacks proved minor compared to a late January 1970 major assault on the base. Thanks to sound military preparations, elements of the Armyís 101st Airborne Division were deployed in advance and repulsed the night attack.

When daylight pushed in, Hegstrom said the sight of hundreds of dead enemy troops in the wire perimeter was horrifying. ìIt was probably the worst thing I have ever seen,î Hegstrom said.

He left Vietnam in March of 1970. He returned to his old Minnesota base for another nine-month slot and spent the final year of duty in Erzurum, Turkey, some 30 miles from the Russian border where he was attached to the Eighth Air Force and provided electrical maintenance service for communications.

With duty in such remote locations ó and the stark memory of Vietnam still fresh ó Hegstrom wanted out of the military. ìI decided that was enough,î he said.

To this day, he says, he is amazed that he came home from Vietnam without a scratch.

Looking back on that experience, Hegstrom says, ìI probably would not take the experience away, but I wouldnít do it again.î

Back to Minnesota

Hegstrom returned to Minnesota in the spring of 1971 to rejoin his wife at the time, Patricia, and their two children, Keith, now 35, and Laurie, now 32.

He worked as a mechanic and bus driver for the MTC for a time and later found work with a foundry in the Twin Cities. During the same time, his marriage to Patricia ended.

While working at the foundry, he met Carol, his wife of today. They learned of a co-workerís mother who was selling her house in Forest Lake and a deal was made to buy the home.

ìWe decided that was where we wanted to go,î he said. ìWe fell in love with the town immediately.î

Forest Lake has been good for Hegstrom in more ways than one. While he found a calling in service through the Legion and VFW, he also beat back a personal demon 15 years ago when he gave up liquor.

That was 1991. In 1993 Hegstrom was hired as gambling manager at the VFW Post here and two years later took on the added duties as club manager.

He says the desire to quit drinking and to stay sober is one of the best things he has ever done and he thanks his wife for her help in the process.

ìItís a big monster,î he says of drinking. ìIt can ruin your life forever.î

Today he provides assistance to anyone who needs help getting into a treatment program. This summer he is sponsoring three from the area who are in recovery programs.

A big honor

When Post 225 parade chair Barb Olson called this spring and asked if he would accept the duty of parade grand marshal, Hegstrom said he was speechless for several moments.

ìI was pretty much caught off guard when they called me,î he said. ìIt came out of the blue.

ìIt was pretty wonderful. Itís a very nice honor.î

It will be a special day for Hegstrom, for sure. After the parade, many of the parade dignitaries will go to the VFW for a dinner.

For the evening, the Hegstroms will gather at home for a family dinner with their combined family of six children, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren who plan to be in town for the celebration.

It will be a family day for a Forest Lake fellow who is proud to call this town home.

ìLife is good,î Hegstrom says.

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Forest Lake Times
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Forest Lake, MN 55025
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